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Advertising
is the lifeblood of the Indian customer
oriented market. Advertising informs,
attracts attention, creates a need, facilitates
brand retention and induces a need to buy.

Importance
of Advertising

Advertising is one of
the oldest forms of public announcement and occupies a vital
position in an organisation's product mix.

According
to the American Marketing Association, Chicago, "Advertising
is any paid form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods
and services by an identified sponsor."

Toadvertise
means to inform and marks the flow of information about a product
or service from the seller to the buyer. However, advertising does
not end with the flow of information alone. It goes further to influence
and persuade people to take a desired action - like placing
an order to buy a product.

The consumer
market has become highly competitive with a new brand being
born almost every day. Irrespective of the kind of product you are
looking for, be it consumer durables like refrigerators, air
conditioners, washing machines or fast moving consumer products
(FMCG) the number of brands available is mind boggling. Naturally
it is the prime concern of every marketer to promote their brand
as a shade better than the competitors'. Advertising comes in handy
here.

However, merely
informing a customer about the existence of the brand is not enough.
Advertising should be targetted towards the prospective audience
in such a way that it forms a positive impact on the customer
and in the process creates brand recognition.

Marketers target
advertising campaigns at the groups of customers:

First
Time Users of the product - Customers who
don't use that product category at all. The aim is to
convince them to try that product.

First
Time Users of a brand -Consumers who don't
use a particular brand but might be using a competitor's
brand. The aim here is to convince buyers to switch from
the competition product to theirs.

Regular
users of the brand - Buyers who are using
the brand already. The aim is to serve as a reminder of
the brand's benefits and convince them to continue using
it.

Launch
a new brand into the market.

Irrespective of
who the ad is targetted at, a firm that plans to spend on advertising,
must make sure that advertising campaign creates a positive impression
of the brand in the minds of the customer, creates a need for them
to try the brand and a commitment to continue using it.

Contributing Author: An Advertising graduate, she writes
Research based Articles on topics ranging from content writing,
travel, home improvement, etc.